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LAKEWOOD, Ohio - DJ Kishka is Cleveland's premiere Eastern European DJ, a regular at polka parties and sausage fests and founder of Cleveland's Dyngus Day. In keeping with his ethnic roots, he's even taken a stage name in honor of a sausage, a hearty stuffed-intestine favored by Poles and other Slavs.

So it may come as a surprise that Kishka, or Justin Gorski, his real name, is also one of Cleveland's most prominent vegans. And not only does the man who dons lederhosen and goofy wigs to spin polka varieties not eat meat or dairy - he's also on a mission to provide high-quality and interesting vegan food to other Clevelanders. Three years ago, he started the Cleveland Vegan catering business with his wife, Laura Ross.

In November, Gorski and Ross took the next step and opened Cleveland Vegan cafe and bakery at 17112 Detroit Ave., in Lakewood's bohemian, walkable west end.

The bright and airy, 10-table space is decorated with cute vegetable art and pro-veggie sayings. Diners can order prepared foods from the bakery case, or up to three courses with table service. Cleveland Vegan started with only weekend cafe hours, but have already expanded to serve breakfast and lunch from Tuesday to Sunday.

Be forewarned before you go, though, Cleveland Vegan is cash only, a fact our server helpfully mentioned as soon as we sat down. We were prepared, having already noticed this on the website.

I visited for a recent Sunday brunch, along with my daughter and sister-in-law, who is not vegan but follows a strict gluten-free diet. I was curious for her take on Cleveland Vegan as they also have many gluten free entrees and bakery items - all clearly labeled. I was also curious to see if my daughter would notice the lack of dairy and eggs in her food. (The answer was yes, but she didn't mind too much, except when it came to the drinks. But more on this later.)

Some may think a vegan cafe would have limited dining options. But some would be very wrong. Our biggest problem at brunch was deciding whether to order lunch or breakfast, sweet or savory, three-courses for $19 or a la carte, and what to take home from the bakery case. Starters and sides such as lemon chia muffins, creamy potato and leek soup, homemade biscuits and Cajun potatoes tempted, as did entrees from shredded beet burgers to multigrain bakes to red curry noodles.

Our group of three split the difference, ordering one savory appetizer to share, three breakfast entrees, and one sweet to go. A cauliflower hummus plate with gluten-free pita chips and raw veggies ($5) may not be a typical breakfast starter, but it was a good one. The crumbly hummus had a rich smoky taste that nicely complemented the veggies and pita, which my sister-in-law proclaimed some of the best gluten-free bread she has had.

My 8-year-old's entree, the gluten-free mini-French Toast with banana caramel compote and coconut whip ($6) was equally delightful, especially the candy-like compote. We could have eaten a bowl of that alone. The toast was a bit dense, but that only helped to soak up the rich maple syrup.

My egg-free mushroom and kale omelet, made with shiitake mushrooms, green onion, kale, tofu and almond milk was equally impressive. You wouldn't know it was vegan unless you were told, which is a compliment. Though it came with gluten free bread, I opted for the regular English muffin.

I'm glad I did. The only off note in our meal was my sister-in-law's bread, a gluten-free slice that came with her Asparagus Benedict. The non-egg "egg" dish was rich and creamy, made with spinach, avocado, tofu, cashew, Hollandaise and almond milk. But the gluten-free bread was not nearly as successful. Even this dedicated GF- diner proclaimed it nearly inedible, hard, crumbling and with a bitter aftertaste.

A gluten-free donut my daughter ordered from the bakery case was equally questionable, gummy instead of light and cake-like. The frosting was still pretty good, though, so she did not mind too much,

What she did mind was Cleveland Vegan's limited drinks options. With milk out of the question, the choices were narrowed down to lemonade (not really a breakfast drinks) and one weekly juice and smoothie flavor. They were "Tropical" (banana, grapefruit, pineapple and chia) and "Super Green" (apple, ginger, kale cucumber and parsley) the day we visited - neither of which appealed to anyone at our table. It's a minor point, but I'd suggest expanding the juice options at Cleveland Vegan in the future, especially as the cafe adds hours and diners. Vegan and vegetarian cafes usually excel at juices and smoothies; it was surprising not to see more choices.

So my daughter settled on water, and I had my coffee with non-dairy creamer. Not my favorite, but a sacrifice I'd willingly make again for vegan food good enough you don't even realize what's missing.

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